A Killer In Our Midst - Rewritten
by AutobotCopperShadow
Summary: Arthur is a detective in New York City who investigates serial killers. For the last several months, he's been following the case of a killer with a specific signature; a spray-painted message on the wall. With his younger brother continually getting detention at school for fights, and the tension between him and his partner, he doesn't know what to do.
1. Alfred

**Wow! So I finally finished the rewritten first chapter of A Killer In Our Midst! Be forewarned, this is very different! Thanks to all of you that read the first version of this story, and I hope you stick to this one too!**

A Killer In Our Midst Chapter 1:

Alfred...

Alfred huffed, sitting in the blue, bumpy plastic chair, the overwhelming scent of Febreeze around him. The boy next to him looked equally mad, red hair ruffled around a rough face. Alfred bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying a biting comment. When the bell above the office door chimed, Alfred sat up, spotting his older brother.

"Arthur." Alfred tried to reason with him, but Arthur just pushed past him and signed the sheet the counselor held out to him.

"I'll take care of him." Arthur smiled at the counselor, and then turned around, and with a stormy expression, grabbed Alfred's wrist and began pulling him. Alfred struggled, holding back until Arthur gave him the evil eye. He quit struggling and let himself be pulled along. When the gray car was in view, Alfred launched into explanation, but was quickly quieted by Arthur.

Alfred quickly climbed into the back as Arthur settled in the driver's seat.

"Alfred! This is the fifth time this month. I can't believe you!" Arthur frowned, turned around in the front seat of the car. He laid his hand on the wheel, but didn't start the car, relaxing slowly.

"But... I just did it to stop Jordan from bullying Matthias." Alfred gave him puppy-dog eyes. Arthur looked away, straightening the papers in the passenger seat. He began to talk again.

"Alfred, I don't care why you did it, I just know this is the fifth time this month. Quit it, or you're moving schools."

"But Matthias and Gilbert are my only friends in this area! You can't take them away from me!" Alfred huffed, glaring at Arthur, leg jumping in the seat. Arthur started the car and didn't answer his brother, who straightened his askew glasses and scowled.

Soon enough, they were pulling into the parking lot of the apartment complex, and Alfred had uncrossed his arms and was staring straight ahead.

"We're home." Arthur called into the backseat.

"I'm not blind, Arthur. I know that." Alfred rumbled at him.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Arthur's eyes narrowed in fury at his younger brother. "I may not be your mother, but I am certainly your guardian and you will listen to me!"

Alfred sighed. "I'm pretty sure I know you're not mom. You look nothing like her."

Arthur went quiet. "Just go to your room. Dinner will be ready soon."

Alfred pushed the squeaking door closed, wincing whenever it was particularly loud. He searched around. "Where is it?" He pushed aside a few pieces of paper on his desk. "Aha!" He reached down and pulled out the slim, shiny phone. "I guess I'm lucky I didn't take this to school today." He mumbled, turning it on and opening the contacts. "Matt, Matt..." He found the contact and called.

"Cous!" Alfred whispered enthusiastically. "Can you come over? Devious plans need to be made."

Matthew's curious voice rang out. "Alfred? Why are you whispering? Why are you calling me 'Cous?' I'm your nephew, not your cousin."

Alfred's mouth twisted. He shrugged, and then remembered Matt couldn't see, and continued whispering. "Oy! I know. You just feel more like a cousin. Besides, I'm not sure I should have my phone right now. Anyway, ask your mum if you can come over."

He heard Matthew sigh. "Fine."

He pumped a fist in the air and said goodbye. Hanging up, he smiled and sat down at his desk. "I wonder what we'll do _tonight_?"

Later that night, Alfred got a text. The soapy water coated his hands and he frowned at the dishes stacked in the sink, and then wiped his hands on a hand towel.

* * *

Matthew: She said yes. But she said she wants to come too.

Alfred: Make it a surprise! Arthur doesn't know.

Alfred: I'm still in trouble. I hope this doesn't make it worse.

Matthew: Are you sure we should do this?

Alfred: DO IT.

Matthew: OK.

* * *

"Hey, Alfred." Arthur stepped into the doorway of the room, looking around the brown-painted room. "This is so messy..." He shook his head. "Francis is stopping by tonight so we can close up the last case."

Alfred turned, hiding his expression. "Sure, Arty. I understand."

"Don't call me that." Arthur frowned. He hurried on, the carpet muffling his footsteps. Then, as soon as Alfred heard the closing of the door, he rushed to his phone.

* * *

Alfred: Dude, Francis is visiting.

Matthew: You mean Arthur's 'partner'?

Alfred: Yeah

Matthew: Should we come over? I could tell my mum not too.

Alfred: No reason not to. Come over.

* * *

Alfred smirked, putting down the phone, and putting on his headphones. Swinging the chair around, he turned on his computer. "Time for some research..." Music faintly drifted from the headphones and Alfred's smile was growing by the second. "Cool."

"ALFRED!" He heard Arthur's loud voice from the foyer. Winking to himself, he left the room.

"Yeah, bro?" Arthur's face was incredibly red, and Alfred laughed internally. "You needed something?"

"Why is my sister's car out front?" He steamed.

"Arthur, why are you asking me? She could've just decided to visit, like a good sibling!"

"She already is a good sibling. But she doesn't visit out of the blue like this!" Arthur held his head in his hands. "How am I supposed to entertain both Ettie and Francis?"

"Well, bro, technically you aren't entertaining Francis, you're just going over that case with him." Alfred smiled cheerfully before whipping the door open at the sound of the doorbell. "Hey!" He saw both Francis and Ettie, who were smiling at him, and Mattie looking awkward, standing behind them. Alfred reached around them and grabbed Mattie, pulling him through the two adults, who were pushed aside slightly, as Mattie smiled apologetically at them. His shoes squeaked on the wood floor until he slightly pitched forward as the carpet caught his shoes. "You okay?" Matthew nodded, and Alfred pushed him into his room.

"Are we really doing this?" Matthew looked apprehensive.

"Of course! Unless you've gotten cold feet?" Alfred edged forward.

"No!" Mattie waved his hands in front of him.

"Alright, then. Arthur won't know what hit him!"

Arthur motioned for Francis and Ettie to come in, noticing the faintly nostalgic look she was giving Alfred. He quickly grabbed her shoulders and whispered to her. "Ettie, just go sit on the couch for a bit and watch TV, please? I've gotta do this with Francis for a bit." She looked at him and nodded.

"Don't worry. So why did Alfred need Matthew over here? I offered to drive him over here after Alfred texted him. Then I decided, why not visit my baby brother!" She ruffled his hair, and he gave her a deadpan look. "Please, don't do that Ettie."

"Fine..." She sat down and he walked over to Francis, who had sat down at the dinner table.

"Now, what are we dealing with?" Arthur sat down in the seat next to Francis, looking over all the papers. Then his gaze landed on a picture, and his eyes widened. "What?!"


	2. Killer Walk

**Thank you, fluffnights, for the review! You inspired me to write this chapter so quick.**

He pulled the picture over to him, the glossy white outline of the photo flashing in the artificial light of the kitchen. Arthur looked up at Francis, an inquisitive look upon his face. "I – We know her, don't we? She's the girl who's always following Ivan. In the office."

Francis nodded grimly. "I'm a little scared to tell him."

"We've got to though." Arthur clenched his fist. "So, how many kills has this person racked up as of now?" Across from him, Francis took in deep breath. He scratched the back of his head, and frowned.

"The department has documented about 3 kills, but there might be more we haven't found."

"That's a lot. Hopefully we can catch this person before he kills anymore people." Francis gulped, uncertainty showing in his eyes.

"Yes. I do hope we catch him. We don't want anybody else to die." Then he stood up, and brushed some papers over to Arthur. "Look over those before tomorrow. I'll see you at work."

"Goodbye?" Arthur looked at Francis as he left.

"Well, that was sure quick. I wonder what's going on?" He looked down at the gray-tiled kitchen floor and took a deep breath. "Ettie! So how are you doing?" He walked over to the couch, settling against the soft back.

His sister gave him a knowing look. Then she smirked. "I'm doing fine, but what about you, little bro?"

* * *

Alfred sighed and pushed the math book away. The idle students all breathed in tandem, with the occasional cough or sniff. "This is boring." He rolled his eyes, leaning back and stretching. He knew that the bell would ring soon, and with that would come detention. "Why me?" He groaned quietly, leaning his face on his textbook. The loud bell rang out of the blue, and Alfred popped up, his arm covered in drool. He grimaced, getting a Kleenex and quickly wiping his arm. Then he picked up his books, and hurried out of the room to his locker. The chattering and loud bangs of lockers closing encompassed the area around him. He arrived at his locker to find Matthias and Gilbert already talking. "Hey guys!"

Matthias smiled at him. "Thanks for getting Jordan back there, buddy." He slapped him on the back and then continued. "Sorry about the detention, though. I know Mrs. Perry can be real mean sometimes."

"Don't worry bro. I'll be fine, I can deal with some mean teachers." Alfred grinned. Then he entered the lock combination into his lock, and opened the locker. He put his English book inside and shoved the math book into his backpack, making a note to do the rest of his homework. "At least it's Thursday. I'll be able to hang with you guys tomorrow after school."

Nodding, Matthias and Gilbert then hurried on, throwing a "Gotta catch the bus!" after them. Alfred smiled, wishing he could go with them, but turned around, backpack slung on his shoulder. "Yeah, I can handle a mean teacher." He told himself.

When he arrived at the classroom door, he knocked and it opened to reveal Mrs. Perry, whose severe blue eyes stared him down as he sat down in one of the front seats. A couple seats behind him, Jordan looked at him in disgust. In large letters on the board was 'DO YOUR HOMEWORK DURING THE ALOTTED DETENTION TIME.' Alfred looked down and grabbed his backpack from the floor, opening it as he pulled it up. He pulled out the book their English class was reading and the math textbook. The paper was already in the book, so Alfred grabbed a pencil and started.

The only sounds in the room were the shuffling of feet, the tick of the clock, and the occasional cough from the students. Mrs. Perry sat in front, the keyboard clicking as she typed up whatever teachers did whenever they watched detention students. He groaned inside his head, the math filling every nook and cranny of his brain. 'Dear gosh, I hate math.' He decided to take a break and looked outside.

The leaves shone golden from the sunlight coming from the low sun. The trees overshadowed a large park bench where two students sat, pouring over textbooks and laughing with each other. Alfred moved on. The flowers were large, luscious, white, and many other colors. Shaking his head, Alfred pushed his thoughts away and turned back to his math textbook.

* * *

His backpack newly emptied, Alfred having finished his math homework, was lightly swinging on his shoulder as he walked along the path. Currently, it was devoid of people, it being 4:30pm and the heat rising as the day went on having something to do with it. The two girls he had seen on the park bench were both gone by the time he had left the classroom at 4:00pm. Alfred had decided to take a small walk, knowing Arthur wouldn't be home until later that day. Alfred was used to the heat, and so he basked in the warm sunlight, jacket around his waist so as not to be too hot.

Taking a break, he sat down on a bench, carefully wiping away leaves that were gathered there. The fall season had come fast this year, and leaves littered the ground in countless piles. Alfred let his head fall to the side. "Wow..." He muttered to himself. "Not even a quarter through the school year, and you're already in fights. Better tone it down, buddy." Relaxing, he let his eyes slide closed, and then was out like a light.

* * *

Unknown to Alfred, a man prowled the park, watching two girls as the older one left in her car. The younger girl sat, unsettled, watching the park around her, a dreadful feeling in her stomach. She drew herself closer together, hearing things in the park around her. Gulping, she shivered as she saw the figure of a man coming near her. She quickly jumped and yelled.

Before she could do anything else, the man lurched forward and slammed his fist into her forehead. She fell backwards, her head striking the stone ground, and then the man picked her up and smiled like a predator.

Alfred shook himself up as a yell rang through the forest. Noticing the dark, he quickly pulled out his phone, mouth falling open in shock. "I've been asleep for 2 hours?!" The time now read 6:45pm, and Alfred gulped as he imagined the lashing he would get from Arthur.

But first, he had to investigate that yell. It sounded... off. He shouldered his backpack, pulled his phone out, and turned on the flashlight. He held the phone out in front of him, and as the beam covered the leaves and branches covering the ground. Alfred's breathing grew more and more shallow the farther he got into the forest. "You're the hero, Alfred, just find that person and make sure they're alright..." He said as a way of comforting himself.

With a small shriek, Alfred fell heavily on the ground, feeling a branch scratch his cheek on the way down. Looking around, Alfred spotted what he had tripped over. An icy feeling spread in his chest, and he screamed and launched away. On the ground in front of him lay one of the girls he head seen on the bench during detention, her hair spread out and the leaves around her head soaked in a dark liquid.

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 **4 – 2 – 16: 1260 words!**

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	3. Call It A Murder Or Not?

Arthur looked worriedly at his brother, who was staring at the ceiling in a stupor. "Oh..." He sighed. With sorrowful eyes, he stepped slowly into the living room. "He's still like that." Arthur stared at his sister, who looked at him with a wordless question. "I don't know what I'm gonna do..." The two both looked down at the carpeted floor, when suddenly Matthew walked in.

Snapping their heads up, both adults did their best to look optimistic, but Matthew looked through their fake smiles and cocked his head. "He's not fine, is he?" Arthur slowly shook his head, and Matthew looked crushed for a second, but then smiled. "It's okay! I know how to cheer him up!" Matthew pushed himself into the dark room, then shut the door behind him. Stunned, both Ettie and Arthur both just sat there for the minutes Matthew was in there.

When Matthew walked out, Alfred behind him, Arthur shot up. "What did you do?" He asked Matthew, looked at Alfred, who looked forlorn, but still, he was up and about, and that was something.

Matthew just smiled, shrugged, and said, "It's a secret." Then, he pushed Alfred with him as they trudged to the door. "We'll be back soon. I promise." Were the parting words of the two boys as the door shut behind them. Arthur looked at his sister and shrugged, but he couldn't help the unsettled feeling that laid across his shoulders and draped over his chest. Remembering what exactly had happened that made his brother look so sad made him shiver, and he gulped.

"Poor Alfred..."

* * *

 _Arthur was looking at several important papers for the case when there was a frantic knocking on the door. He got up and looked through the peephole, noticing his brother. Opening the door, Alfred launched himself into the room and latched onto Arthur. He was sobbing, the tears making tracks in the dirt that caked his face. Arthur felt his blood turn to ice as he noticed blood on the left side of his brother's face. "Alfred!" He pulled his brother off him and led him to the sink. Grabbing a washcloth, he quickly wet it and washed his brother's hysterical face. He was mumbling words, words Arthur couldn't quite make out, but he caught fragments._

" _Girl...saw...forest...dead." His blood turned back into ice, having just warmed after seeing the blood was only coming from a slight cut._

" _Dead?! Alfred, tell me. Are you okay? What did you see?" He knelt down next to his brother, who was laying on the floor now, hands trembling, but mostly flat on the floor._

 _Alfred took a deep, calming breath, and then began to speak. "I saw a girl, in the forest, at the park... she was dead, I know she was, I saw the blood!" Arthur's eyes widened as his brother spoke. Then he pulled out his phone, slid it onto his shoulder after dialing, and picked up Alfred, grunting from the weight of his brother. Pushing open Alfred's bedroom door with his foot and helping the boy onto his bed, he spoke. "Hello, 911..."_

* * *

Just remembering that day had his hands trembling. After calling 911, Arthur called Ettie and Francis, wanting to go with Francis to the crime scene, and have Ettie watch Alfred. He was worried about the teen. At the crime scene, Francis and Arthur immediately deduced that this was not the work of their killer, but took notes of the crime scene anyway, hoping to help the detectives that would work on this case.

After getting home, he had set out the couch for Ettie, and then had her go and get Matthew. If she was going to stay the night, it would be best for Matthew to stay too. He had called the school and given the bare details, and the school had given Alfred Friday off so he could stay home for 3 days, at least. With a glance at the clock, Arthur gathered his things, waved to Ettie, and left for his car. He chanced a look back at the door, shadows gathering around the dark corners of the walkway, but swung his head back around as he was in front of his car.

Calling Francis, he told him to meet him in his office once he got to the police station. In a few minutes, he was pulling into the parking lot of the huge bricked building, with the huge letters noting 'NYPD'. Pulling the door open, his thick eyebrows drew together when the secretary waved him over to her.

She smiled calmly at him. "Mr. Francis told me to tell you he's waiting in your office." Then she returned to her computer records, her blond hair falling like a sheet onto the left side of her face.

"Thank you!" Arthur called after himself as he left through the staff door. The workers were all typing, and the clicks of keyboards and murmuring of them filled the space. He sighed in relief as he stepped into his crowd-free office, nodding at Francis, who was standing in front of his computer, with a cup of coffee in hand.

"Arthur." He greeted, smiling at his partner. Arthur smiled back, then sat in his desk chair, aware of Francis's elbow on the back of the chair. Opening the file folder with all of the papers Francis had given him that night, he handed it back to him.

"I read them all. So, we're dealing with a person who lost someone about 3-6 years ago?" Arthur blinked.

"Yes, that's what we think." Arthur took a deep breath.

"Is that because of the message on the wall?" Francis nodded in confirmation. "OK." Francis grabbed the papers from Arthur's hand, then strutted out of the room quickly. Once again, Arthur was left confused at his partner's sudden leave. "Alright..."

He then turned towards his computer and began the paperwork that would take the majority of his day. When his lunch break rolled around, he grabbed his phone and called up Ettie. "Are they home yet?"

She answered quickly. "Yeah. They came home around an hour ago. They were out of breath. They probably went to the gym or something." Arthur clicked his tongue.

"Thanks. I just needed to know." He then hung up after saying goodbye. He sat up and grabbed his car keys, intending to go to grab his lunch at one of the sandwich places or something. The door creaked open as Francis stepped inside, face grim.

"We found another body. The killer we're looking for. It seems he or she really doesn't care about hiding them anymore. They were in plain sight… poor person." Arthur shoved his phone into his pocket and pulled his notepad and pen out of his drawer.

"Let's go." He pushed past Francis on his way out, noting that Francis was giving him a weird look. He ignored the slight flutter in his stomach, preferring to sprint his way out to the parking lot.


	4. Regular Day

**Thank you for the reviews! It inspired me to finish writing this chapter. I love all you guys.**

"This would be what? The fourth kill?" As Arthur spoke, his hands clenched and unclenched on the wheel, his eyes straight ahead. Francis nodded, sitting still in the passenger seat, holding several things, including a coffee, pens, and the notepads he and Arthur always brought to the scenes.

"Yes." The rest of the ride was silent, the tension moveable. As soon as Arthur had parked, he unbuckled and pushed the door open, his legs slightly sticking to the leather. The heat had grown since this morning, and now he paused to wipe his forehead as he and Francis hurried to the body. Slipping on some sunglasses, Arthur looked down at the victim. He turned towards Francis and grabbed his notepad. Pulling out his pen, he began to write.

"Girl, 15, blond hair, green eyes, cause of death blunt trauma..." Arthur glanced up, seeing another officer. "Do we know who this is?" He inquired. The officer shook his head and continued directing onlookers away from the scene of the murder.

Francis was standing at the head of the girl, camera in hand, taking pictures. Arthur tapped him on the shoulder. "Take all the time you need, I'm going to look for more evidence." Francis nodded, and Arthur pulled on gloves, stepping carefully. The yellow crime scene tape snapped in the wind, and the trees whispered as he walked slowly and methodically. Leaning down and looking as he walked, he soon found himself at an area with trampled over grass. "Evidence or not..." He grinned, "Found something." Arthur's popped up and jumped at the sound of a rustling in the leaves behind him.

Francis appeared, camera hanging off his neck and hair pulled back into a small ponytail. He stepped as carefully as Arthur had, leaving most of the evidence for the crime scene analysts to look for. He looked around, then turned back towards Arthur. "I got all the photos I could, but here..." He pulled the camera up to his face and Arthur heard a click as he pressed the button. "There."

"Wonderful." Arthur smiled at Francis, and then turned away, unaware of the slight pinking of his partner's cheeks. "We need to get back." Arthur blinked and walked carefully away from the area. Francis waved his hand slightly, motioning for him to go on. 'Alright...' Arthur thought, still unsure of what exactly was going on with his partner. He eased himself in the car, and then pulled out his phone.

 _"Alfred! How are you doing?"_

 _"Um… I'm fine, Arty. Me and Mattie are just walking around."_

 _"Mattie and I, Alfred."_

 _"Ugh, whatever. So did you need something?"_

 _"Yes, actually. Has Ettie already left or is she still at the apartment?"_

 _"When_ Mattie and I _left, she was already leaving."_

 _"Thank you, Alfred. Have a nice day."_

 _"Right back at you, Arty."_

Francis slid into the passenger seat next to him while he ended the call. "We're going to back to the station. We need to compare the kills." Arthur nodded and started the car. The unsettled feeling he'd had this morning was blanketing his chest yet again, and Arthur frowned at the icy feeling.

"What the..." He murmured, not catching the look Francis sent him.

"Are you alright, Mon Amie?" He said, looking at Arthur.

"Fine." Arthur insisted, taking a deep breath and starting the car. As they left the park, Francis continued messing with his phone, and looking at the pictures on the camera.

When he was seated at his desk chair again, Francis gave him the camera and he plugged it into his computer, uploading them and then putting them on a thumb-drive. "Here you go." He said, handing the stacks of pictures to Francis.

"Thanks." Francis said, quickly grabbing the thumb-drive and leaving the room. Arthur looked after him with a perplexed gaze. His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head before looking at the time. '5:58, huh?' He thought. 'That's two hours before I leave.' With two hours to burn, Arthur turned back to his computer.

Later that night, as he turned the car into the parking lot, Arthur noticed his sister's car was gone. "I wonder if Matthew left too." He spoke out loud, turning the car off and getting out, pulling a briefcase in his hand. Before he could even knock on the front door, it was pulled open and Alfred was in his face.

"Hey Arty!" His brother spoke right in his face, and Arthur slightly flinched back from the loudness. He could see inside that Matthew was looking apologetic on the couch in the living room. Arthur took a deep breath and shut the door behind him.

"Is Matthew… Matthew, are you going to stay the night?" He set down the briefcase and then walked over to the couch, sitting down.

"Yeah, I am. Why? Is something wrong?" Matthew looked panicked for a second, and Arthur remembered too late that his nephew was a shy boy who didn't really like getting in trouble.

"No! It's fine." Arthur quickly shook his head. "You can stay over. But I suppose you'll have to share Alfred's room. Or you can sleep out here if you want."

"Alfred's room is fine." His nephew blinked at him, words only slightly quiet.

Arthur smiled at him. "Have you already had dinner?" Matthew shook his head. "But it's so late... Well, I'll make you something if you'd like that." Matthew nodded his head, and next him to him, Alfred grinned.

"Thanks bro! I'm famished. I haven't eaten in so long!" Alfred stretched out on the couch, hand on his forehead, acting dramatic as possible. Arthur rolled his eyes. 'Really...' He thought, turning to the kitchen, where Matthew stood, as if waiting for an order or something.

"No Matthew, I'll make it. You go watch TV with Alfred or something. Play a board game if you have to." Matthew nodded and headed out to the living room, sliding from the back of the couch next to Alfred. Alfred clasped a hand on his shoulder, and Arthur watched their interaction with a sort of sad look on his face.


	5. The Crime Scene

**Hey, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in being my beta? Just review or pm if you want to!**

Tapping his fingers impatiently on the car wheel, Arthur watched his partner run to the car.

"A bit slow, aren't you?" He smirked as Francis glared with a huff.

"Just a bit out of shape. But you would know slow wouldn't you, Arthur." Francis laughed at Arthur's insulted look.

"Let's just get over that, okay? We've got a murder to solve, and a serial killer to bring to justice." Arthur grew serious as they grew closer to the scene of the crime. He could already see two police officers standing in front of a strip of yellow tape. Holding up his badge, he marched up, Francis behind him.

"Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy?" The policeman on the left raised him eyebrows. Arthur nodded and the man stepped aside. "I'm Officer Hammond. Just ask me if you need anything." Arthur shook his head and said, "I'll be sure to do that, but I don't think we'll need you yet." He moved past the man, Francis having already moved forward into the leaves with his camera.

Stopping just outside the small clearing, Arthur took a deep breath and began surveying. There was flora and fauna everywhere, and as he was looking, part of the fronds to the left of him moved apart. "Was anything moved?" He questioned the blond lady as she left the fronds.

"No. It's all ready for you two, Detectives." Arthur nodded his thanks to her. He wiped his forehead and threw on his sunglasses as he plodded forward past the ferns. Pulling out a notepad and pen, Arthur began to look around. His partner, appearing next to him, held a camera, and began to take pictures of the crime scene. Arthur narrowed his eyes as he spotted a bit of white poking out from behind the girl's body.

'Francis?" He waved him over, and pointed at the card. "Take a picture of that. A lot of pictures." Once his partner had finished taking pictures of the card, Arthur carefully, with his gloves on, grabbed the end of it and slowly began to pull. It was a very dirty advertisement to a dance at the high school in the town. Staring down at the girl, he wondered. "How young is she? Did she drop this? Or was it her killer?" He took a deep breath and stuck the paper in an airtight bag and put it with the other evidence.

"Eliza's coming to get that, right?" He motioned towards the group of packets in the evidence pile.

"Yes." Francis nodded and then put away his camera. "Okay, I think we've gotten enough for today, but don't take my word for it." He wiped his forehead and looked up, shielding his eyes. "I think we've been here about an hour."

"Alright." Arthur conceded. "Let's go." He brushed his short blond hair back from his sticky forehead, the heat shimmering in the sunny October air. It was unusually warm for an October day…

The car purred as Arthur swung into the parking lot of the apartment complex. "Here?" Francis tilted his head. "I thought we were going back to the station."

"Nope. I need to check on Alfred really quick. You can wait in the car if you want." As Arthur stood up, Francis stood up with him and shrugged.

"It's fine. I'll come with." Arthur walked faster, uncomfortable in the heat. Before he could knock, hoping Alfred was inside, the door swung open and almost whipped Arthur in the face. He stumbled back, straight into Francis, who pulled up his arms and held him by the elbows.

Quickly, Arthur stood back up and shuffled his feet. "Thanks." He said to Francis, turning towards the door. Alfred stood there with his mouth open, and Matthew peeked from behind him. Quickly he hurried out.

"I'm so sorry Arthur! That was an accident, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Matthew's words were almost unintelligible; they came out so fast. Arthur brushed off his arm and then walked inside.

"I'm fine, Matthew. Really, you should be more concerned about the state of this apartment-what were you boys doing?" Arthur gazed around at the mess on the floor. There were a whole bunch of blankets and pillows, and even a few stools from the kitchen.

"Oh," Alfred and Matthew both blushed. "that was-we were making a pillow fort and miserably failed." Alfred rubbed the back of his neck and blushed harder.

"Well please clean this up. I don't want it to be this messy when I get home. Anyway, will you boys be fine for lunch? And dinner maybe?"

"Yeah. I can always walk down to the local pizza place and get us something." Alfred pointed out the window at the building down the street. Arthur furrowed his brow.

"I really wish you would eat healthier foods. Oh well, it's a fruitless cause. Francis and I are going to head down to the station and I don't know how much longer we'll be there. Probably not much. Tomorrow's my day off, though, so I might grab Ettie and we can all go eat at a restaurant or something like that. How's that sound?"

"Hmm?" Alfred shrugged. "I don't really care. Do whatever."

Arthur rolled his eyes and stood up. "Well, have fun, we'll be leaving now."

Alfred smirked and glanced at Matthew, who went a bit wide-eyed. "Oh we'll have fun alright… Love ya Artie!"

"Don't call me that!" Arthur yelled back as approached the door. Then, calmer, "Alfred, I've told you not to call me that. I would appreciate if you would stop."

"I can try, Artie, but I can make no promises!" Alfred grinned as Arthur frowned at him and grabbed Francis's wrist.

"Let's go." He ushered the Frenchman along, and then unlocked the car.

Francis smirked. "You are in quite a hurry to get somewhere." Arthur turned red and stammered.

"No matter!" Arthur started the car, face still flushed, and stared straight ahead the entire time. He should be getting a certificate for the safe way he was driving. As soon as the police station appeared in his vision, he breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed from his tensed position in the seat.

Before they got out, Arthur grabbed Francis's wrist again. "Thanks for letting me visit the boys. I probably would've been able to talk to them that long if I had gone later."

"I didn't mind, Arthur. It was… interesting."

Arthur rubbed his neck. "They certainly are an interesting pair, aren't they? They don't seem like they should be very good friends, but they are. Oh well, it's good that Matthew gets out and about with Alfred's prodding."

Francis nodded and then they both closed their doors. Francis laughed when Arthur almost ran into the glass door and Arthur tossed him a dark look. "Thanks for nothing, Frenchie." Then he smiled.

 **Whew I love you guys! Thanks for the reviews and I hope this satisfies you for a bit. I know my updating isn't on a schedule, but I write whenever I can.**


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